Mainland Bound

We dropped down to La Paz for a few days to provision and get a little more organized. We had a couple of boisterous windy days running down wind, recording a max of 17.6 knots on one leg. We made it to La Paz in pretty much record time.
We lost a couple of batteries to old age or abuse while in Puerto Escondido, and La Paz is definitely the place to get new ones. I just removed the batteries which came with the boat, as they were not holding a charge and were dragging the new batteries we installed in CA. down the tubes. The dedicated starting battery was not starting the engine consistently, so I bought a new high end Optima battery to replace that one and removed the other two house batteries that came with the boat. Net result was about 120 Lbs. of lead out of the bilge with no loss of capacity.   We headed out of La Paz on December 22 to go anchor on Esperito Santu island for a night and then down to Ensenada de los Muertos for the launch off to the mainland. It was pretty windy going down to Muertos and we waited 2 nights there for the norther to run its course. We got a weather  grib file over the ham radio and it looked like Christmas day would be perfect with winds easing slightly over the next day. We set out in about 20 knots ripping along at about 10-12. As is usually the way this works, the winds built slightly all day and we had a rough night with 25+ knot winds all night. We had to reduce sail and slow the boat so that off watch could get some sleep. The area we were crossing is the convergence of the Gulf of California with the Pacific Ocean, complicated by the tides from the gulf interacting with the Ocean, along with three days worth of windblown seas. All in all a pretty rough nightr, but we were anchored at Mazatlan by mid day.
We anchored outside the harbor by isla de los chivos(goat island) and went ashore to Benjis Pizzeria for a garlic shrimp pizza and sonme beers. Yummy. Next day we went into Mazatlan to explore and to have a shower at the Club Nautico. For a small fee, you can dock your dinghy securely, take a shower, dump your trash and get a bus into town. The place had definitely seen better days, but we were in need and they were available. We found the main market and historic district, and came back to the boat and the pizza place for dinner. Next day we went into town to provision for a bit more roaming. The central market is a typical mexican market with everything from socks to fresh tripe. All the fresh produce, groceries, meat and fish and everything else in one location with 50 vendors set up in one place. Got loaded up and set out mid day for Isla Isabel. A famous bird santuary in a somewhat remote area off the coast.

Got some really good looks at some whales toward evening, but the always seem to be underwater when the shutter clicks.
We pulled into the anchorage early morning and dropped anchor next to a couple of boats we had been next to in La Paz  a week earlier.Lots of whales near the island in the morning. We identified Blue, Humpbacked and Pilot whales from the anchorage.We snorkeled some, but not too impressive as the water was kind of cloudy from the windy day.Next day we snorkeled the other side of the island and I scribbed the scum off the bottom of the boat. A rather amazing amount of slime builds up in couple of months. Winds pick up from a more notherly direction, giving us a rolly lumpy night close to a rocky shore. We would have left in the night, but a couple of other boats had come in and anchore rather close to us and we didn't want to have to worry about hitting them in the dark. First thing in the morning we hoist anchor and head for San Blas for a night in a little more sheltered spot. We had a great sail, mostly running before the wind at aobut 9-10 knots and as the wind slowed and shifted, we had fast reaching at about the same speed but with nearly no rough seas. The boat next to us hoisted sail right after we did, but they vnaished in the distance pretty quickly. We went ashore to a beach side restaurant and had garlic shrimps for dinner. The bay is very shallow and gradual sloped, so that if you were to leave your dinghy, the tide could leave it a few hundred feet from the water. Not much fun to drag it back to the water, so we kept a close eye on it. It started to rain when we went back to the boat and as we got on board and out the dinghy up, the other boat from isla isabel showed up and anchored right next to us. This in a by which is 3 miles wide with only us and one other boat in it.
Next morning it is still raining and the wind has shifted to the south, so we decided to just head south, make some wather and try to find a nice place to hang out. We were going to Chacaly, but with the southerly winds, we were concerned about another rough night. We continued on to Rincon de Guayabitos to take advantage of the southerly wind keeping the sell down in this otherwise bit surf spot. We went ashore in the dighy to find a pretty busy mexican tourist resort with few Americans. It was pleasant and we decicded to stay as long as the weather would allow us smooth anchorage.
As usual that lasted till about 2 in the morning, when a 3 foot swell started to bounce us thoroughly.
Off to next shelter from the northwest swells of the pacific. We caught a nice tuna and some cero(spanish mackerel), but just kept the tuna. Punta de Mita appeared in the distance and we anchored off the town front. Pretty busy holiday activity, lots of tourists, many north Americasn. Lots of people surfing or paddle boarding. The swell which rolls around the point providing surf, also gives us a rocking motion on the boat. Not so bad sitting or sleeping, but hard to cook or make coffee.

 The second day here, I rented a paddle board and playhed in the surf. The board was a bit small for me,and I couldn't get much of the stand up thing going, but I go several good rides in a kneeling. position. Witn a larger board and a little practice, this could be fun. I never could see why people wanted to just paddel around on one, but the surf changes everything. I am not nimnble enough to start on my belly on a surfboard and hot up with a wave, but if you are already up, its pretty sweet.
Next morning I was too sore to think about a repeat performance, so we moved on to La Cruz del la Huantaxcle. We anchored out in front of the marina, but had another kind of bouncy night. We decided it was time to go into someplace quiet and get some rest and a hot shower.

The marina had a slip available to fit Hot Sauce, so that was  a treat, they usually charge about 50% premium, for us taking up too much space. We looked at the marina plan and it state that the slips were 10m wide or 33 feet, so 28 wide Hot Sauce would be a breeze. We tooled in to the marina, and as I neared the slip, I could see the attendant looking kind of apprehensive. As we got closer, it became obvious that the 10m was center to center not one side to the other. meaning that thbe slip is about 30 feet wide. I slipped right in and he shouted 'Perfecto". What fun, the slip is about 90 feet long and could hold anther Hot Sauce easily behind us. We talked to other people in he marina and they seemed amazed that we made it to Mazatlan in 30 hours, most of them spent 2 or 3 nights out, proof positive that fast is fun.

Some cat tried to come on the boat in the wee hours of the morning, and Bob had a hissy fit. Pretty funny except for being awakened at 4 am.